Spinning funnel



April 11, 1950 c. HATFIELD SPINNING FUNNEL Filed Ju'ne 4, 194e lo w33Patented Apr. 11, 1950 UNITED PATENT O'FECEy SPINNING FUNNEL CortlandHatfield, Elizabethton, Tenn., assigner, byv mesne assignments, t'o-.Beaunit' Mills, Inc., New York, Y., aV corporation of Newl YorkApplication .Tune 4,1946, S'eraINo. 674,236

3 Claims.

This invention relates to spinning iunnelsV such as are used in themanufacture of rayon and the like.

l'n4 certain rayon-spinning systems such as that commonly employed inthe production of rayon from;` a cuprammoniurn cellulose spinningsolution, etc., the solution isl extruded downwardly through. aAspinnerettel or spinnerettes into a chamber containing a coagulatingliquid and into a spinning funnel having its larger end disposednear'the upper end ofthe chamber and its smaller end disposed below' thelower end of the chamber.

Through improved structural and functional' design, it has been renderedfeasible to employ two or more spinning funnel's in the same cham-` ber,as disclosed, for example, in U. S'. Patent No. 1,682,797' to Otto etal., and thus to multiply the volume of production without increasingthe amount of' space occupied by the spinning machines. Such spinningfunnels, because of their transparency chemical resistance and hardnesscharacteristics, have been heretofore made of glass; This material,while serving the purpose admirably, is subject to certain limitations,such as its fragility and liability' tov breakage during assembly in thespinning head and in service. Another drawback to the use of glass isthe difficulty experiencedin its fabrication into suitable shapes.

With the recent improvements. in plastics, it i has .been iound thatcertain of them possess the desirable qualities, such as transparencyand chemical resistance, though none so far have exhibited the hardnesscharacteristics of glass. They do.. however, possess other attributes,such as. moldability and resistance to breakage, which render themhighly satisfactory for the purposes to which glass funnels haveheretofore been applied.

The object of the present invention is to employ the attributes oftransparent plastic funnels in the manufacture of rayon.

Another object is to facilitate the mounting of a plastic funnel in aspinning head of the type now in common use.

A further object is to enable the spinning of different kinds or denierof thread without changing the spinning funnels or removing them fromthe spinning heads.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention,which embodies among its features a transparent plastic spinning funnelcomprising a pair of tapered tubular members joined together adjacenttheir upper enlarged ends by a web or partition wall by which 2 thespinning solution extruded into the spinnin chamber is kept in itsrespective tubular member, a mounting ange encircling the tubularmembers, removablysecured to a discharge nozzle at the lower smaller endof each-tubular member, each carry-ing awear-resisting insert at itslower end through which the coagulated filaments emerge and areinforcing and sti'ening bridge joining the tubular members adjacenttheir lower ends.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a spinning funnelconstructed in accordance with this invention,

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a bottom planview of a spinning iunnel constructed inaccordance with this invention, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View through the lower endofone of the tubular members and the funnel tip carried thereby.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a spinning head designatedgenerally I0 comprises a head piece II which eno-loses `a multiplespinnerette- I2. As shown, the headpiece II is provided with a dependingflange into which the upper end of a glass cylinder I3 is cemented as atI4, Cemented` as at I5 to the lower end of the cylinder I3 is a bottommember IG having at its lower end an annular liquid receiving anddistributing passage I'I, the bottom wall I8 of which forms a seat forthe funnel encircling flange to be more fully hereinafter described. Acoagulating liquid inlet I9 opening into the passage I'I servesl con-'tapering tubular'members 22 and 23 which are joined together adjacenttheir upper enlarged ends by a web or partition 24. Formed integral withand encircling the tubular members adjacent the lower end oi the web 24is a ange 25 which seats against the under side of the wall I8 andserves to locate the upper end of the funnel the proper distance belowthe spinnerette I2. The flange 25 is held against the wall I8 and thejoint rendered fluid tight by means of a suitable cement 26. Joining thetubular members 22 and 23 near their lower ends is a reinforcing andstlienlng bridge member 2l.

Formed integral with and spaced a short distance above the lower end ofeach tubular member 22 and 23 is an outwardly extending annular flange28, and the portion of each such member which extends below the flangeis externally screw-threaded as at 29 to receive a funnel tip designatedgenerally 30.

The funnel tip 30 comprises an internally screwthreaded barrel 3|carrying at its lower end a" hollow inverted frustro-conical portion 3 2upon the outer surface of which is cast a pair of diametrically spacedwings 33. The funnel tip may be formed of any suitable material, such asa plastic, and has embedded in its lower end a ring 34 of a harder andmore wear-resistant material, such as glass, glazed porcelain or thelike. In order to secure a duid tight joint between the funnel tip 3Band its respective shoulder 23 it has been found desirable to interposea gasket 35 between the bottom face of the shoulder and the upper end ofthe barrel 3|.

In assembling the funnel 2l in the head l0 the upper part of the funnel,i. e that portion projecting above the flange 25 is introduced into thehead l0 through the open bottom thereof, it being understood that theexternal diameter of the upper end of the funnel is of a diameter smallenough to enter the opening dened by the walls of the passage ll. Thefunnel is thrust into the spinning head until the flange seats againstthe Wall I8 and the cement 26 is then applied. Thus it will be seen thataccurate location of the upper end of the funnel 2| with relation to thespinnerette l2 may be obtained without the use of jigs or fixtures ofany kind.

I'hus assembled, the unit is ready for use, and the spinning head lll ismounted on the spinning machine in the conventional manner with theinlet I9 connected to the source of supply of the coagulating liquid.The liquid flows into the head in suicient volume to cause it tooverflow into the funnel and completely fill the tubular members 22 and23 and keep them lled against the discharge through the bottom openingsin the funnel tips 30. Spinning solution being extruded from thespinnerette I2 enters the coagulating liquid and by reason of the flowof liquid out through the funnel tips 30 the partially coagulatedfilaments are drawn downwardly and discharged through the rings 34 fromwhence they are directed to a suitable collect ing device (not shown).By reason of the screwous that such tips are readily exchangeable andreplaceable to compensate for wear or facilitate the use of tips havinglarger or smaller outlet openings. Although it is preferred to usepolystyrene and polyvinyl polymers in the manufacture of these funnels,they may be formed from any other organic plastic materials resistant tospin bath chemicals, etc.

What is claimed is:

l. A spinning funnel of organic plastic matetrial comprising a pair oftapering tubular memthreaded connections between the funnel tips 30 55and their respective tubular members, it is obvibers, a -web joining thetubular members near :their larger ends, a flange encompassing thetubular members near the lower end of the web and a bridge joining thetubular members near their smaller ends.

2. A spinning funnel of organic plastic material comprising a pluralityof tapering tubular members integrally molded together, a web joiningsaid members near their larger ends, a ange encompassing said membersnear the lower end of the web, a bridge joining the tubular members neartheir smaller ends, shoulders on the tubular members adjacent thebridge, the tubular members between the shoulders and their smaller endsbeing externally screw-threaded and funnel tips on the screw-threadedends of the tubular members, each such funnel tip com-i prising a barreland a hollow inverted frustreconical part.

3. A spinning funnel of organic plastic material comprising a pair oftapering tubular members, a web joining the tubular members near theirlarger ends, a flange encompassing the tubular members near the lowerend ofthe web and integrally molded out. of l thematerialv of saidfunnel and extending peripherally about and radially from said funnel,and a bridge joining the tubular members near their smaller ends.

CORTLAND HATFIELD.

REFERENCES CITEDA The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES `BATENTS

